Jolley Bruce Christman, a Greenville native, lives in Philadelphia. There she has worked as a high school teacher, teacher educator, and school district administrator. In 1992, with her good friend Eva Gold, Jolley founded Research for Action, a non-profit organization that, through its research, seeks to improve the life chances of underserved youth by strengthening public schools and enriching the civic dialogue about public education. In her retirement, she has served on the boards of higher education institutions and community arts organizations and campaigned for fair funding for Philadelphia public schools. Jolley holds a B.A. from Randolph College and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.